Paul Sassone

Once again a slaughter of innocents has wrenched from us a cry that something must be done.

But, what that something is cannot be agreed upon.

This latest horror took the lives of 17 human beings — 14 students and three faculty members of a school in Florida. The accused killer is a teen with a lengthy history of mental and emotional problems.

America is divided. Some say such killings are a mental-health issue.

Others say there are too many guns in too many hands.

Some Americans believe the shooter should be put to death. But if he is mentally ill do we really want to do that? Do we kill the ill?

It seems to me that either/or misses the point and can’t work.

We can’t ignore guns and we can’t ignore mental health.

Guns and mental illness is a recipe for disaster.

Seems to me we’re failing as a society in meaningful gun regulations and in mental-health treatment.

Far too often mentally ill persons a warehoused in prisons or jail.

Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart has called his jail the largest mental-health facility in the state.

As a society we seem almost content to let massacres occur and then wring our hands in despair.

When what we need to do is get in front of the related issues of mental health and guns and spend time and treasure on prevention.

—Spend time, treasure on mental health, gun prevention–